7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)-anthracene (DMBA)-induced oral buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma in Syrian golden hamsters was used to establish precancerous lesions. Agilent rat whole-genome microarray and biological information analysis were used to screen for genes related to key diseases during the transformation of normal buccal mucosa to precancerous lesions in golden hamsters. DMBA acetone solution (0.5%) was used to establish a model of precancerous lesions in oral buccal mucosa in golden hamsters. The results showed that a total of 1331 genes were differentially expressed, including 1278 known, 53 unknown, 747 up-regulated and 584 down-regulated genes. Analysis revealed a total of 14 gene interaction pathways that significantly associated with the 1278 known differentially expressed genes (P<0.05). In conclusion, the occurrence of precancerous lesions in the oral buccal mucosa of golden hamsters was caused by a number of genetic changes that resulted in changes to their respective pathways. Key candidate genes for the formation of precancerous lesions in oral buccal mucosa included Cyp2b13, Orc1L, casp8, CCL5, CXCL12, CCL20, Serping1, P518/Qrfp, F5, TFPI, Vcam1, Fn1, Angpt2, Lcp2, Cxadr, Lyn, Hck, Btk, RGD1564385/fes, Vav1 and IL5ra.